Lightning International’s James Ross / pocket.watch’s Albie Hecht / RX’s Lucy Smith TV Kids Summer Festival Recap / TV Real Festival Recap
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Space Reservations: September 15
Advertising Materials: September 18
WORLD VIEW By Mansha Daswani.
LIGHTNING INTERNATIONAL’S JAMES ROSS The company’s CEO weighs in on its successful journey with FAST channels.
POCKET.WATCH’S ALBIE HECHT The chief content officer at the company reveals how its FAST channels are helping to expand the popularity of its net work of digital-first creators.
RX’S LUCY SMITH The creator economy and YouTube are taking center stage at MIPCOM Cannes this year.
TRENDING ON The most-viewed clips on our video portals for the last 30 days.
Publisher
Ricardo Seguin Guise
Editor-in-Chief
Mansha Daswani
Managing Editor
Jamie Stalcup
Associate Editor
Kloudia Sakowski
Editor, Spanish-Language Publications
Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari
Production & Design Director
David Diehl
Online Director
TV KIDS SUMMER FESTIVAL RECAP
All the action from the TV Kids Summer Festival, including keynotes with Paramount’s Louise Bucknole, CBC’s Marie McCann, Nickelodeon’s Ashley Kaplan, Disney’s Gino Guzzardo, pocket.watch’s Chris M. Williams and Sigma Girl Media’s Amy Takahara; panels on the development process, independent boutique distributors, teen live-action shows and digital-first slates; and a data insights session with Dubit.
Simon Weaver
Sales & Marketing Director
Dana Mattison
Sales & Marketing Manager
Genovick Acevedo
Bookkeeper Ute Schwemmer
TV REAL FESTIVAL RECAP
All the sessions from the second annual TV Real Festival, featuring National Geographic’s Tom McDonald, ORF’s Gernot Lercher and Marion Camus-Oberdorfer, Muck Media’s Mariana van Zeller and Cristina Costantini, BossaNova Media’s Paul Heaney, Lion Television’s Richard Bradley, Curiosity’s Clint Stinchcomb, TVF International’s Poppy McAlister, Albatross World Sales’ Anne Olzmann, 11:11 Media’s Bruce Robertson and Documentary Channel’s Tom Neff.
Ricardo Seguin Guise President
Mansha Daswani
Associate Publisher & VP, Strategic Development
LISTINGS Highlights from several distributors and channel operators.
BY MANSHA DASWANI
FAST Forward
FAST may not be the buzzword that it was two years ago, but amid the media business’s renewed interest in advertising-supported models, the segment continues to hold potential for consumer-facing platforms and IP owners savvy enough to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the sector.
For the third edition of the FAST Festival, we wanted to explore the business from a range of different angles, from the platforms balancing FAST and on-demand lineups to distributors of scale and niche purveyors. All are finding new ways to address what Looper identified in a recent report as the business’s two biggest speed bumps: discovery and monetization. “The question is no longer whether people will watch FAST. It’s can the business keep up?” Looper said.
Registration for the FAST Festival is open and entirely free. Registering means you’ll receive access details for each session, available live and on-demand, as well as our post-event exclusive white paper.
Returning to the FAST Festival, Olivier Jollet, executive VP and international general manager at Pluto TV, will discuss how the world’s leading AVOD platform is scaling its presence globally. Marcos Milanez, chief content officer at Rakuten TV, is also back at the festival to discuss the programming strategy at the popular European service. We’ll hear from several IP owners and channel curators, including sessions with Lightning International’s James Ross; All3Media International’s Gary Woolf and Amanda Stevens; and BBC Studios’ Kasia Jablonska. We’ll also take a deep dive into niche fandoms, including enlisting the expertise of Brian Volk-Weiss, CEO and founder of The Nacelle Com pany, and for our kids’ strand, we’ll hear from Albie Hecht, chief content officer of pocket.watch.
Enjoy the show!
Before FAST was a buzzword in the business, Lightning International saw the potential of the space, capitalizing on its long heritage of distributing payTV channels to assemble a slate of 20 FAST services across a range of genres. With a bouquet that includes Action Holly wood Movies, Pulse Wildlife, Kartoon Channel!, a slate of music services, NewsWorld and more, the company is focused on appealing to a broad audience and ensuring strong localization via subtitling, CEO James Ross tells World Screen.
James Ross Lightning International
By Mansha Daswani
WS: What led to Lightning International’s expansion into the FAST space?
ROSS: We’ve had a lot of content relationships with people for many years. Our business has always been about how we get the content that we’re working with onto multiple different platforms. We tend to make sure that for all the content we have, we have all rights. In order to make the business work, we need to maximize those rights. Pay TV is in a situation where it’s plateaued. A move to FAST was a natural one. We’re very familiar with producing broadcast channels; we do a lot of the tech in-house ourselves, so that makes it very cost-effective for us to produce new streams of content as channels. We got into it five or six years ago, and we felt we could produce light versions of the pay channels that we were already producing, but at broadcast-quality standards. FAST is not about getting a bunch of tapes and playing them back-to-back. It has to look like a TV channel. And particularly now, consumers are expecting that any channel they see on their TV looks of the high-quality standards that they
would expect from a terrestrial channel. Our package is at about 20 channels now, although it’s growing all the time as we talk about localization.
WS: What has been the thinking behind the curation of that slate?
ROSS: All the platforms have a restricted number of channels that they are taking. That’s primarily because it’s very difficult to market hundreds and hundreds of channels. It’s very important that all channels in the FAST space are of good quality and have great brands and people recognize what they’re for. Especially as an independent distributor of channels, we need to cut through and produce [channels] that can grab people’s attention. The platforms all want to sell lots of advertising. If they want to sell lots of advertising, that means the channels need to appeal to many people. And while it is good to have niche appeal in certain circumstances, it is also quite difficult to make the advertisers and the agencies excited if you’ve only got a very small portion of the audience. We’re seeing a move away from niche channels. For the big platforms, they have to be mass-market channels. With all of our content, we try to think, is it appropriate for a TV audience? As wide as possible is what we’re trying to do.
“We need to cut through and produce [channels] that can grab people’s attention.”
WS: How are you addressing the discoverability conundrum?
ROSS: There’s several different parts of this equation. One of the most important things, of course, is metadata, which is not my favorite word, but it’s something that we have to work very hard on. That means supplying more than just a simple photograph and a name of a show. We have to go much deeper with the descriptions of what’s in each episode. We have to have a whole variety of different photographs that are available for every episode. But it does come down to the relationship that you build with the platforms. We’ve built very close relationships with the marketing departments at the platforms to understand what they want to promote. AI can have some involvement in this, but actually, we have to have close relationships because there’s still a big human touch in getting stuff promoted on different platforms.
Born on YouTube, pocket.watch has expanded its reach to every platform kids are on, from licensing its creator economy shows to broadcasters and streamers to building and curating its own FAST channels, Ryan and Friends and pocket.watch Game-On. Albie Hecht, chief content officer, tells World Screen about adapting digi tal-native content to a FAST environment.
Albie Hecht pocket.watch
By Mansha Daswani
WS: What led to pocket.watch launching FAST channels?
HECHT: pocket.watch wants to be everywhere kids are. From a real estate perspective, we jumped in very early in the space. It’s proved to be a tremendous driver for us in terms of awareness, especially as connected TVs come into play, the data that we get and the connection with parents.
WS: What can audiences expect to find when they land on the two channels?
HECHT: We have 59 creators and 1.3 billion subscribers, with 10 billion views a month, 30,000 hours of programming. That is our base to build these channels. Both channels have a similar type of programming strategy. We have original programming, which we get through a unique syndicated model, that are creator originals, and we have mishmashes, which are half-hour television shows that are curated from this vast library of YouTube content. They’re curated in a way that’s themed and has original content added to it, so it feels and looks like a television show, which is really perfect for linear. It’s also parent-friendly because it’s curated in a way that meets what we considered “broadcast standards” in the old days. Ryan and Friends is all about deep Ryan content and [creators] that are adjacent to that, like Diana and Toys and Colors. The pocket.watch channel, now called Game-On, is focused on gamers and Roblox content.
September 15
Materials: September 18
Navigating the creator economy and branded-entertainment spaces are among the themes that MIPCOM Cannes is embracing with its agenda this year, Lucy Smith tells World Screen, while MIPJunior is set for a makeover. MIPCOM Cannes returns October 13 to 16 with a major presence from YouTube as that giant marks its 20th anniversary this year. Smith, on the heels of returning from Ban ff , StreamTV and Cannes Lions, caught up with World Screen to preview some of the highlights of this year’s event.
Lucy Smith RX
By Mansha Daswani
WS: Tell us about the overall thinking that’s guiding your strategy for MIPCOM Cannes this year.
SMITH: The creator economy is the major theme for MIPCOM Cannes 2025. That’s a broad term, but for MIPCOM, it means bridging the gap between digital native creators, digital studios, brands, agencies and platforms with mainstream media.
Of course, MIPCOM at its core is a global television and streaming content market. The creator economy focus is about opening up to new industry audiences wherever they are through new partnerships and collaborations.
In conversations I’ve had across different territories and business areas, both in recent months and at Banff, StreamTV and Cannes Lions, our direction has resonated really well. It’s where the industry is, and what is needed is one global B2B market that brings these communities together. Plus, what is driving audience attention today is no longer only short-form, but there is more and more demand for longer-form content from audiences, and that is the sweet spot for MIPCOM.
WS: How are you bringing the creator economy to Cannes, given its impact on the overall business?
SMITH: By building on what makes MIPCOM unique and creating the right context and environment. For example, we’re expanding the remit of the MIP Innovation Lab and the MIP Producers Hub (which will become the MIP Creative Hub) and creating a series of new initiatives, including the MIP Creative Conference Programme that explores the explosive rise of creator-led and brand-funded studios, digital originals, new financing models and evolving rights strategies as well as curated matchmaking for these audiences.
WS: How did the BrandStorytelling alliance come about, and what can you tell us about the Cannes edition?
SMITH: Brand-funded content is becoming more and more important as the TV industry looks for new business models and funding partners and brands look to engage with audiences in different ways. Our goal is to showcase examples of some of the best new brand-funded storytelling and to give participants case studies of projects going from conception to completion.
We have been great admirers of Rick Parkhill, the founder of BrandStorytelling, and his team for what they have built over a decade of summits at the Sundance Film Festival. They’re the foremost summit in this field, having developed a significant community and dynamism between global brands, platforms and creators each January in Utah. Our partnership marks the first international edition, running across Monday, October 13, and Tuesday, October 14.
“The creator economy is the major theme for MIPCOM Cannes 2025.”
The potential they recognized was how MIPCOM can deliver a unique meeting place for brands, brand studios and agencies to partner with the global television industry, who in turn can find new funding and co-production and distribution deals. Planning is well underway between our teams to stage a killer program—more news on that schedule to come soon!
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The Puzzle Lady
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CosmoGO Promo
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Bubblegem
In this hit Korean magical adventure series, Princess Purple and her mermaid friends must recover magical gems while navigating human life and protecting both worlds. (CAKE)
Open House: The Great Sex Experiment
Couples arrive at a luxury retreat to explore having open relationships. (Passion Distribution)
TV Kids Summer Festival Recap
CONTENTS
PARAMOUNT’S LOUISE BUCKNOLE Louise Bucknole, senior VP for kids and family in the U.K. and Ireland at Paramount, outlined her programming strategy at Milkshake! across acquisitions and commissions.
CBC’S MARIE MCCANN Marie McCann, senior director of children’s content at CBC, discussed how the pubcaster is using YouTube and the crucial role of co-pros in her programming strategy.
CREATIVE SPIRIT With Martin Pope, joint CEO of Magic Light Pictures, and Grainne McNamara, VP of development for live action and animation at BBC Studios Kids & Family, the TV Kids Summer Festival explored trends in how development slates are being crafted.
INDIE GAINS The TV Kids Summer Festival featured a superpanel on boutique providers of kids’ and family fare, delivering insights from Dandelooo’s Emmanuèle Pétry, Serious Kids’ Genevieve Dexter, MIAM! animation’s Hanna Mouchez and Tulipop Studios’ Helga Árnadóttir.
NICKELODEON’S ASHLEY KAPLAN Ashley Kaplan, executive VP of unscripted and digital franchise studio at Nickelodeon, spoke about the brand’s first YouTube original series, Kid Cowboy.
DISNEY’S GINO GUZZARDO Gino Guzzardo, VP for multiplatform content at Disney Branded Television, offered up some valuable perspectives on producing compelling short-form content.
LIVE-ACTION APPEAL Successful strategies for teen live-action shows, and the crucial role of partnerships in getting them off the ground, took center stage in a session featuring ZDF Studios’ Oliver Grundel, Cottonwood Media’s David Michel and ZDF’s Nicole Keeb.
POCKET.WATCH’S CHRIS M. WILLIAMS Chris M. Williams, founder and CEO of pocket.watch, took part in the TV Kids Summer Festival with a keynote on franchise-building from the creator economy.
GOING DIGITAL FIRST Offering two very different perspectives on creating YouTube content, 9 Story Media Group’s Elianne Friend and digital-native outfit TheSoul Publishing’s Francesco Miceli took part in a TV Kids Summer Festival session moderated by Emily Horgan.
SIGMA GIRL MEDIA’S AMY TAKAHARA Netflix alum Amy Takahara, who has set up her own consultancy, Sigma Girl Media, joined the TV Kids Summer Festival to discuss navigating the evolving ecosystem.
TREND-WATCHING WITH DUBIT The conference portion of the TV Kids Summer Festival wrapped with Dubit CEO Ian Douthwaite and team members Laura Dudley-Gough and Benjamin Sumner revealing new research on kids’ media habits and tips for how IP owners can explore opportunities in gaming.
Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher
Mansha Daswani Editor-in-Chief
Jamie Stalcup Managing Editor
Kloudia Sakowski
Associate Editor
David Diehl Production & Design Director
Simon Weaver Online Director
Dana Mattison Sales & Marketing Director
Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Manager
Ute Schwemmer Bookkeeper
Ricardo Seguin Guise President
Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP, Strategic Development
Louise Bucknole, senior VP for kids and family in the U.K. and Ireland at Paramount, outlined her programming strategy at Milkshake! across acquisitions and commissions.
CKNOLE
Social media and YouTube are often the entry point for kids into new brands. We have been releasing full episodes on YouTube. We have short-form and other assets on Milkshake! on YouTube to drive that engagement and awareness. Linear and VOD are still key—we have to drive those ratings. We’re a commercial business. But we understand that the engagement from kids happens in different ways. The linear block on 5 in the morning is so important because it’s part of their routine of the day. In the afternoon, they can then catch up on our 5 VOD platform, or they might want to go onto YouTube. Kids will go wherever is suited to them.”
CBC’s MARIE MCCA
Marie McCann, senior director of children’s content at CBC, discussed how the pubcaster is using YouTube and the crucial role of co-pros in her programming strategy.
ANN
At the end of the day, it starts with the kids—the people we’re serving. This is who we work for. Our content has to reflect who they are, what their family life is like, what their experiences are, what their preferences are. We always have to make ourselves new. We have to stay engaged. We do direct audience engagement. We don’t just study clicks. We study kids and families. Our country is becoming increasingly diverse. We have to create content that authentically tells the stories of the classrooms today. If we don’t, we are Tyrannosaurus rex. We’re done. So, it is a business imperative to understand who kids are today and what they want.”
SPIRIT Creative
With Martin Pope, joint CEO of Magic Light Pictures, and Grainne McNamara, VP of development for live action and animation at BBC Studios Kids & Family, the TV Kids Summer Festival explored trends in how development slates are being crafted.
—Martin Pope
Fo r us, it’s much more about fo cus. What can we do? What does the audience want? How can we deliver for the audience? It’s less about the market. How are we going to deliver and get to that audience and make sure that they are enriched? In the end, we’ll find the money. We’ll find the broadcaster. If it’s really good, we will make it work. It’s much more about, are we telling the right story in the right way for that audience? ”
If you believe in the story that you want to tell, it might not be what the market is looking for right now, but if you have that passion ignited in you when you see something, just keep going with it. You can find the money. It is out there. It just might take a little longer than it did before. So, stick with it and keep going.”
—Grainne McNamara
Indie
GAINS
The TV Kids Summer Festival featured a superpanel on boutique providers of kids’ and family fare, delivering insights from Dandelooo’s Emmanuèle Pétry, Serious Kids’ Genevieve Dexter, MIAM! animation’s Hanna Mouchez and Tulipop Studios’ Helga Árnadóttir.
We’re finding investors that believe in our long-term strategy....[and] setting up productions in other countries as well. It’s a challenging puzzle.”
We’ve got to be looking for equity finance. Private equity has got to be the way forward to allow you to build a business in an SPV around a property.”
—Genevieve Dexter
—Helga Árnadóttir
We’re using real-time [animation] to reuse premium assets we’ve produced and budgeted in one season and trying to produce additional content.”
—Hanna Mouchez
Usually broadcasters have spent for this year and the next year and even the next year, so it’s being patient and per severing. It’s being careful about how you make things in a beautiful way and believing in your property for the generations to come.”
—Emmanuèle Pétry
Nickelodeon’s ASHLEY KAP
Ashley Kaplan, executive VP of unscripted and digital franchise studio at Nickelodeon, spoke about the brand’s first YouTube original series, Kid Cowboy .
PLAN
YouTube is important, but it’s not a great place to make money. The strategy for Kid Cowboy is to build it into the next major franchise. We start on YouTube. We introduce the IP there— the world, the characters, the music. We get kids as excited as we can. Once they are, we can move beyond the YouTube content. We can do more narrative, long-form storytelling. The goal here is not just to build large YouTube channels. The goal is that this becomes the next PAW Patrol, with a long-form series, theatricals, toys and consumer products. I believe the next PAW Patrol will be born on YouTube.”
Disney’s GINO GUZZA
Gino Guzzardo, VP for multiplatform content at Disney Branded Television, offered up some valuable perspectives on producing compelling short-form content.
ARDO
I try to hook a viewer in their mind before they’ve even clicked on your video. Once they tap on it, then you have to deliver on that promise, otherwise they’ll jump off and then the algorithm will pay attention—the click-through rate was high but the retention’s low, they’re not delivering on whatever they promised the viewer that got them to click. And then we won’t get recommended to more people. So, find that hook that is baked into the conceit and then deliver on it to hold a viewer the whole time.
If you follow that process over and over again, over the years, you can’t help but perform better because you’re using the audience to tell you how to optimize.”
APPEAL Live-Action
Successful strategies for teen live-action shows, and the crucial role of partnerships in getting them off the ground, took center stage in a session featuring ZDF Studios’ Oliver Grundel, Cottonwood Media’s David Michel and ZDF’s Nicole Keeb.
It’s amazing to see how a teenage brand can resonate on various platforms and side by side.”
—Oliver Grundel
In the construction of a complicated co-production, in development, adaptation and execution, you need confidence and trust in each other. It’s costly and time-intensive, but if you do it right, you have a long shelf life with your properties.”
—Nicole Keeb
We’re talking about 15 buyers in the world, and five to six buyers who can make the show happen and prebuy or co-produce it. The financing is so hard to put together. You don’t just need to have a buyer that’s interested, you need them to be interested for this fiscal year! It’s probably competing against animated shows or YA shows. It’s always a little bit of a miracle pulling these shows off the ground.”
—David Michel
pocket.watch’s CHRIS M. W
Chris M. Williams, founder and CEO of pocket.watch, took part in the TV Kids Summer Festival with a keynote on franchise-building from the creator economy.
WILLIAMS
The early adopters [of creator content] will see the most success. We’ve been very successful with our partners at Hulu, Peacock and Prime Video, who’ve expanded their portfolio of our creator content and are making investments with other creators. All the major global players certainly have or are formulating strategies around digital creators. The local players, particularly internationally, will be slower to adopt. I expect that flood to come after. [They] will realize that in order to compete with YouTube, they’re going to have to adopt some of these strategies and embrace creator content.”
FIRST Going Digital
Offering two very different perspectives on creating YouTube content, 9 Story Media Group’s Elianne Friend and digital-native outfit TheSoul Publishing’s Francesco Miceli took part in a TV Kids Summer Festival session moderated by Emily Horgan.
With YouTube dominating 80 percent of the market, it’s something we can’t ignore. Our digital-first content slate has many products underway because we must be in charge of our own destiny and meet kids where they are. We are first rolling it out [on YouTube] but also have in mind to put it on AVOD platforms such as Tubi, Roku, Peacock, Pluto and the rest.” —Elianne Friend
The online world has a diff erent type of cycle compared to the one in more traditional media. So, you need to be fast, agile, analyze trends, jump on them quickly and pivot when needed. It’s also important to work on packaging. You don’t just need to produce great content, you need to be able also to package it correctly, starting from thumbnails and using the metadata. It provides users with the right amount of information to be able to discover your content and to cross-promote your content.”
—Francesco Miceli
AMY TAKAH Sigma Girl Media’s
Netflix alum Amy Takahara, who has set up her own consultancy, Sigma Girl Media, joined the TV Kids Summer Festival to discuss navigating the evolving ecosystem.
HARA
It’s about knowing your audience and being very specific with that target.
It’s also starting out with something that’s more of a brand and trying to build awareness ahead of time before going straight into content. It used to be that content could launch and drive brand and toy. And that’s not necessarily the case anymore. It’s other aspects of entertainment that can reach kids, whether it’s games or live events or just getting out in front of the audience… and have them know and be familiar with your brand. Content can be a part of that, but it’s all about building out a brand, an IP, versus just creating content now.”
DUBIT Trend-Watching with
The conference portion of the TV Kids Summer Festival wrapped with Dubit CEO Ian Douthwaite and team members Laura Dudley-Gough and Benjamin Sumner revealing new research on kids’ media habits and tips for how IP owners can explore opportunities in gaming.
—Ian Douthwaite
The cost of producing a game in Roblox is so much less than animation. There are plenty of ways to be on that platform, from having a full-on game around your IP to pop-up games, which you can integrate into an already popular game. Or you can create fashion items, which is a cheap way of getting onto that platform. With gaming, you are potentially hitting a new audience as well, so you can create awareness of the brand or IP easily. ”
Kids spend over 22 percent of their week on digital activities, which is second only to the amount of time they spend sleeping per week. ”
For children of all ages, gaming can have a positive impact on their mental well-being. This ranges from being able to connect with friends socially, having fun with them, allowing them to escape and relax, be creative, learn and achieve things.”
—Laura Dudley-Gough
—Benjamin Sumner
TV Real Festival Recap
CONTENTS
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’S TOM MCDONALD The second edition of the TV Real Festival kicked off with a keynote conversation with Tom McDonald, executive VP of global factual and unscripted content at National Geographic.
BRINGING UNIVERSUM TO THE WORLD Gernot Lercher, who heads up natural history at Austrian pubcaster ORF, and Marion Camus-Oberdorfer, director of acquisitions and distribution investment at ORF-Enterprise, discussed how they collaborate to bring high-end natural history to Austrian and international audiences via the UNIVERSUM brand.
MUCK
MEDIA’S MARIANA VAN ZELLER & CRISTINA
COSTANTINI
Mariana van Zeller and Cristina Costantini spoke at the TV Real Festival, offering insights into how Muck Media, founded by five friends, has assembled a portfolio of some of the buzziest factual shows on linear and streaming, including Trafficked on National Geographic, Karol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful on Netflix and Sally on Hulu.
BOSSANOVA MEDIA’S PAUL HEANEY Paul Heaney, founder and CEO of BossaNova Media, discussed meeting the needs of buyers and maximizing returns to producers.
LION TELEVISION’S RICHARD BRADLEY Richard Bradley, co-founder and chief creative officer of All3Media-owned Lion Television, joined the TV Real Festival to discuss how the acclaimed outfit is navigating the opportunities and challenges in factual commissioning today.
FACTUAL INDEPENDENCE Exploring the unique positioning of boutique independents, TVF International’s Poppy McAlister and Albatross World Sales’ Anne Olzmann joined the TV Real Festival to share how their outfits are making sense of the factual distribution business.
CURIOSITY’S CLINT STINCHCOMB Clint Stinchcomb, the president and CEO of Curiosity, joined the TV Real Festival to share how the company is driving gains across its SVOD, FAST and content licensing operations and weighed in on the opportunities presented by AI.
11:11 MEDIA’S BRUCE ROBERTSON Founded by reality TV icon Paris Hilton and Bruce Gersh, 11:11 Media is taking a next-generation approach to scaling its content production efforts, which run the gamut from digital-first series to immersive docs and more, its chief storyteller, Bruce Robertson, told TV Real Festival delegates.
DOCUMENTARY CHANNEL’S TOM NEFF After first launching Documentary Channel as a cable network, Tom Neff is now resurrecting the brand as a streaming destination for indie docs, he told viewers of the TV Real Festival.
The second edition of the TV Real Festival kicked off with a keynote conversation with Tom McDonald, executive VP of global factual and unscripted content at National Geographic.
NALD
We’ve taken a fewer, bigger, better approach over the last couple of years. Rather than try to maintain a certain number of hours, which feels like a linear mindset, we’re focusing on having a set of tentpoles that feel like they’re going to stand out on Disney+. We’re taking a streaming-first approach. We have the linear channels, but fundamentally I’m thinking about its forever home, which is Disney+, and about ideas that we think are going to pop on Disney+, where you’re next to Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and those other incredible brands. We’re taking a less-is-more approach while maintaining big ambition. Fewer shows but higher impact.”
TO THE WORLD Bringing UNIVERSUM
Gernot Lercher, who heads up natural history at Austrian pubcaster ORF, and Marion Camus-Oberdorfer, director of acquisitions and distribution investment at ORF-Enterprise, discussed how they collaborate to bring high-end natural history to Austrian and international audiences via the UNIVERSUM brand.
Our clients in the international market know us well for having these high-end, blue-chip productions in nature and wildlife. This is what makes it easy for us as a distributor to invest. It is not as much of a risk as it would be in other documentary genres, because we are so very well-known, and this is thanks to Gernot and his team.”
—Marion Camus-Oberdorfer [Audiences] switch on on Tuesday nights, in prime time, and they expect high quality, both visually and in terms of content. UNIVERSUM in Austria stands for something. This is the pressure we have to bring programs in that slot that fulfill all the expectations our audiences have…. Everybody is suff ering from budget cuts. Especially in natural history, it feels like a family where one helps the other. This makes it easier in tougher times. No co-production means no documentary. Putting money together is the only way to get things done.” —Gernot Lercher
The only video portal for the factual programming industry.
MARIANA VAN ZELLER & CRISTINA COSTANTINI Muck Media’s
Mariana van Zeller and Cristina Costantini spoke at the TV Real Festival, offering insights into how Muck Media, founded by five friends, has assembled a portfolio of some of the buzziest factual shows on linear and streaming, including Trafficked on National Geographic, Karol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful on Netflix and Sally on Hulu.
The production company exists so that we can make good stories... so that the five of us can make stories that we think are good and important. Oftentimes, they have some kind of civic underpinning, some issue or injustice that we’re trying to address. Some of our stories are very, very dark, and some are very light.”
—Cristina Costantini
We try to stay true to ourselves and the stories that we’re ultimately interested in doing. We didn’t come into this business to chase money. We are privileged to do the work that we do, and we hope that the work we’re doing has some sort of impact on the world. You can be really good at being a filmmaker, but if you don’t also know how to read a contract or sell the pitch or figure out creative ways of finding financing… there’s so much more that as a filmmaker you have to be good at or at least you have to learn.”
—Mariana van Zeller
PAUL HEAN BossaNova Media’s
Paul Heaney, founder and CEO of BossaNova Media, discussed meeting the needs of buyers and maximizing returns to producers.
EY
[Development Days] inform our whole greenlight process. We have to do what the buyers want us to do. They’ve got to sell projects up as well. We have to make sure that the projects we pitch are absolutely of the level. And when they give us their briefs, we have to make sure we’re not letting them down…. We don’t want to load our slate with too much of the same. You’ve got to carefully curate it and put it together with content that looks like it’s not just there to make up the numbers. Buyers are not buying like that anymore.”
RICHARD BR Lion Television’s
Richard Bradley, co-founder and chief creative officer of All3Mediaowned Lion Television, joined the TV Real Festival to discuss how the acclaimed outfit is navigating the opportunities and challenges in factual commissioning today.
RADLEY
One of the challenges is when the streamers and the broadcasters say they want true crime, they actually mean American crime, with a bit of U.K. crime. We are developing those stories, but the secret hope is that the big hits come from defeating the algorithm. If you look at the big drama hits of last year on Netflix, Baby Reindeer and Adolescence, they are not things the algorithm would have told you to commission. And yet they connected. We spend quite a lot of time in our development team thinking not just about true crime and celebrity, but what is the other thing that they’re not thinking about that we can persuade them might start a new trend and broaden the slate?”
INDEPENDENCE Factual
Exploring the unique positioning of boutique independents, TVF International’s Poppy McAlister and Albatross World Sales’ Anne Olzmann joined the TV Real Festival to share how their outfits are making sense of the factual distribution business.
We work a lot with producers in non-English-speaking territories, who are producing amazing documentaries. We are finding abilities with AI companies to help re-version, subtitle, dub and create closed captions. Hopefully, we’ll be able to bring more of these documentaries to the rest of the world.”
—Poppy McAlister
As an independent distributor, we have to stand out much more than we used to. The buying behavior is a bit unpredictable at the moment. There’s a shrinking volume of presales, so we need to be ready to invest a bit more than we used to.... You’re more flexible in adapting and reacting to market challenges. The boutique character allows us to remain nimble and to keep our catalog highly curated.”
—Anne Olzmann
CLINT STINC Curiosity’s
Clint Stinchcomb, the president and CEO of Curiosity, joined the TV Real Festival to share how the company is driving gains across its SVOD, FAST and content licensing operations and weighed in on the opportunities presented by AI.
CHCOMB
We try to be a performance-focused company. When we first started CuriosityStream, like a lot of companies at that time, our strategy was all gas, no brakes. Grow top-line revenue, grow subscribers. In 2023, we course corrected and said... we’re going to create a company that’s durable, has a diversity of revenue and is built for the long term. One of the most exciting things about the time that we’re living in is that there are more potential partners than ever. There have been transformational points in time, but I have never personally been this close to the range of transformational opportunities available to us.”
11:11 Media’s BRUCE ROBE
Founded by reality TV icon Paris Hilton and Bruce Gersh, 11:11 Media is taking a next-generation approach to scaling its content production efforts , which run the gamut from digital-first series to immersive docs and more, its chief storyteller, Bruce Robertson, told TV Real Festival delegates.
ERTSON
Paris [Hilton] has always had this innate understanding of pop culture. She’s been one step ahead in so many diff erent ways. 11:11 was about the embodiment of that. How can you take this foundation that she’s built, which is about being at the heart of pop culture, but also about connecting communities, commerce and content?... The challenge is, how do you cut through the clutter? We try to take advantage of the 11:11 flywheel that can get behind a product. Paris Hilton, when she puts her name to something, really puts her name to something.”
Documentary Channel’s TOM NEFF
After first launching Documentary Channel as a cable network, Tom Neff is now resurrecting the brand as a streaming destination for indie docs, he told viewers of the TV Real Festival.
We want to be a home to the independent documentary filmmaker. There is a crisis going on in the industry right now in terms of venues to show documentary films. The majors have more or less abandoned the documentary, unless they’re producing it themselves. That has left the independent documentary filmmaker in a difficult position. Our mission is really clear: we promote documentaries, we promote the documentary filmmaker an d we want to promote the industry.”
THE LEADING SOURCE FOR PROGRAM INFORMATION
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The Gold (True-crime drama, S1-2: 6x60 min. each) Tannadice Pictures and Objective Fiction deliver a star-studded drama inspired by the Brink’s-Mat robbery and the decade-long chain of events that followed, told across two seasons.
I Fought the Law
Mudtown (Crime drama, 6x60 min.) Severn Screen drama follows experienced magistrate Claire Lewis Jones as she faces personal turmoil when her maternal instincts clash with her commitment to uphold the law.
I Fought the Law (Drama, 6x60 min.) Sheridan Smith stars as Anne Ming, the woman who took on the criminal justice system to change the Double Jeopardy Law and see her daughter’s murderer brought to justice.
The Assassin (Crime drama/thriller, 6x60 min.)
Two Brothers Pictures’ action thriller about a female hitwoman (Keeley Hawes) on the run with her estranged son (Freddie Highmore) against the backdrop of an idyllic but remote Greek island.
Jewels of the Mediterranean (Lifestyle/travel doc., 15x60 min.) Dive into the crystal-clear waters of 12 well-known locations, from Gibraltar and the Balearics in the west to Cyprus, Corfu and Crete in the east, and get to know the people, culture, lifestyles and history.
Diddy: In Plain Sight (Bio., 1x60 min.) Lion TV’s documentary reaches beyond the story of Sean “Diddy” Combs to bring to light the complicity of the people around him and explore why so many, motivated by fame, money and power, turned a blind eye to his abusive behavior.
Olivia Attwood: The Price of Perfection (Doc., S1: 5x60 min., S2: 6x60 min.) Olivia Attwood is back for a second season of this series that lifts the lid on the search for the perfect body.
The Traitors (Ent./game-show format) A nail-biting psychological adventure in which treachery and deceit are the name of the game.
CAKE
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Bubblegem (Animation, 52x11 min.) In this hit Korean magical adventure series, Princess Purple and her mermaid friends must recover magical gems while navigating human life and protecting both worlds in a tale of courage and friendship.
Eliot Kid (Animation, 104x13 min.) Eliot is a wildly imaginative boy who turns everyday moments into epic Hollywood-style adventures.
Emmy & GooRoo (Preschool animation, 52x11 min./104x7 min.) Emmy, the only human in Magic
Forest, and her best friend GooRoo tackle playful, feel-good adventures that grow their friendship, treehouse and their imaginations.
Fantus (Preschool live-action, 125x6-15 min.)
Fantus, a curious creature, helps toddlers learn routines, social skills and more through educational content, playful adventures, catchy songs, gentle storytelling and calming, colorful animation.
Bubblegem
INK–Invisible Network of Kids (Animation, 156x11 min.) In a high-tech boarding school full of secrets, four clever students form a secret network to stop their nefarious teacher from turning their campus into a dystopian nightmare.
Jamie’s Got Tentacles (Animation, 156x11 min.)
Alien prince Jamie hides on Earth, navigating middle school, human life and evil Bortronians, with help from his inventive friend Erwin.
The Sisters (Animation, 156x11 min.) Follows 7- year-old Marie and her teen sister Wendy, whose hilarious rivalries and adventures reveal a heartfelt bond beneath their constant bickering.
Tiny Wonders (Preschool animation, 52x3.5 min.) The Nogglins discover nature’s tiny wonders, inspiring young viewers with curiosity, mindfulness and a positive relationship with the environment.
Viking Skool (Animation, 26x22 min.) Follows three unlikely friends training to become heroes, facing magical challenges, learning bravery, teamwork and self-belief in a fun, action-packed Norse quest. Wolf (Preschool animation, 156x7 min.) A lovable, curious wolf dreams big. Wolf ’ s imaginative adventures inspire young viewers to explore and imagine. Wow Lisa (Preschool animation, 26x7 min.) Lisa, a curious mouse, finds magic in everyday things. With her friends, she turns simple activities into exciting adventures full of wonder and discovery.
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Portadas al Día The magazine with the largest audience addresses the most varied topics of interest for the whole family. A revamped proposal addresses the family with special emphasis on women.
Noticias Venevision A space where the history of national and international events is the true center of the news. Presented by the most experienced journalistic team in Venezuelan television.
Los Astros Presented by Meredith Montero, a tarot reader, numerologist, graphologist, reiki healer and spiritual response therapist. Learn about daily predictions and rituals for prosperity, love and money.
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The Auction (Game show) Two teams bid on mystery items using hints (maybe helpful), all for a grand prize—blending auctions with humor, strategy, adrenaline and pure entertainment.
Soul Sucker (Horror comedy, 8x45 min.) A washedup 40-year-old reality star returns home when her mother is suspected in her lover’s strange death. Confronting a family curse, she uncovers dark secrets.
Amia (Political/action drama, 8x45 min.) A Mossad agent hooks up with a local Argentinean journalist to find those responsible for a terrorist attack.
Love at Third Sight (Docu-reality format) Men and women in their golden years spend 14 days at a luxurious resort seeking love.
Indal (Action drama, 8x45 min.) A group of EthiopianIsraeli youth decide to kidnap the police officer who peppered their adolescence with abuse and murdered their closest friend.
Power Couple (Reality format) Eight couples face extreme challenges that will test how well they know each other.
El Buscador (The Browser) (Interviews) A format centered on face-to-face interviews triggered by content that anyone can access online.
G
Portadas al Día
Yum Factor (Cooking competition) Flips the script on culinary competitions. This isn’t about the professionals; it’s about the everyday culinary maestros.
Smart Face (Game show) Contestants are asked questions but are not allowed to answer them—they must find someone on the street to do so.
Ciega a Citas (Date Blind) (Rom-com, 140x60 min.) A story of a woman trapped in a love triangle unconsciously.
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My Mother’s Tale (Drama, 47x60 min.) A woman abandoned by her husband must struggle bravely to raise her three sons.
One Love (Drama, S1: 95x60 min., S2: 119x60 min., S3: 121x60 min.) Idealistic Doga falls in love with a charming man from a devout family whose values clash with those of her mother.
Vendetta (Drama, S1: 201x60 min., S2: 319x60 min.) The story of Dilan and Baran and the marriage they are forced into to end a blood feud.
Promise of the Heart (Drama) After his father dies in a suspicious accident, Kerim, with Ecrin, embarks on a dramatic search to discover a truth that will stir passions of both revenge and love.
Another Love (Drama, 49x60 min.) The story of an anchorman and a prosecutor, drawn into an affair as they both seek to reveal the dark truth about a mysterious serial killer.
Lia (Drama, S1: 46x60 min., S2: 34x60 min., S3: 40x60 min., S4: 30x60 min.) A former ballet dancer is entangled in a complex love triangle with Petru and his wife, whose jealousy and vengeance threaten tragedy when she wakes from a coma.
Match the Family (Game-show format) Challenges two teams of three players to use their intelligence and quick wits to identify family members of a person in the studio.
Keep Your Light Shining Remastered (Singing talent format) Seven singers have 30-second opportunities to impress judges in a 13-week battle to win a big cash prize and launch a musical career. Good Singers (Singing entertainment format) Challenges celebrity teams to distinguish great vocalists from untalented performers without hearing them sing.
Amia
My Mother’s Tale
REA(L)OVE (Reality dating format) A Japanese reality show that brings together 20 contestants seeking romance in an idyllic beach setting, guided by host celebrities.
Joker (Quiz-show format) A quiz show in which a contestant answers ten multiple-choice questions to snatch the jackpot at the top of a money tree or slide to the bottom and win nothing.
Shopping Monsters (Style format) A daytime style makeover show that combines competition, gossip and speed shopping.
LIGHTNING INTERNATIONAL
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Action Hollywood Movies (Movies) The channel is dedicated to fast-paced classic Hollywood action movies featuring stars like Charles Bronson, Anthony Hopkins, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.
RCM (Movies) The premium channel to help easily discover and enjoy high-quality classic films.
Pulse Wildlife (Doc.) The channel immerses viewers in the raw power of nature, featuring predators, animal stories and breathtaking adventures.
Docsville (Doc.) The home of real stories.
Concerto (Music) Showcasing music videos from contemporary musicians all around the world.
NOW Music (Music) A package of music channels including Now 70s, Now 80s, Now 90s00s and Now Rock.
NewsWorld (News) Eight leading global news networks inside one live 24/7 channel—with a realworld view of the news.
Kartoon Channel! (Kids) A family channel delivering programs and animation for kids of all ages.
Globetrotter (Travel) Takes viewers on a tour of the globe, including Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Egypt, Jordan, Serbia, Germany and Iceland.
Pet Club TV (Pets) Delivers pet videos, laugh-outloud comedy and fun stories that celebrate pets.
ORF-ENTERPRISE
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Saalbach-Hinterglemm—Where Nature Comes Out On Top (Wildlife/nature, 1x45/52 min.)
Explores the balance between wildlife and human needs in Saalbach-Hinterglemm and highlights the ongoing efforts to harmonize the coexistence of humans and wildlife.
The Pigeon Hustle (Nature, 1x45/52 min.)
Pigeons, often dismissed as “flying rats,” display their expert navigation and athleticism during a 24-hour exploration of their lives in London and New York.
South Tyrol—The Land Between (Nature, 1x45/52 min.) Discovers South Tyrol’s unique landscapes, with their diverse habitats and rich flora and fauna, from Alpine wilderness to Mediterranean influences.
The Forgotten—The Women of the Peasants’ War (History, 1x45/52/90 min.) Marking the
Pulse Wildlife
500th anniversary of the German Peasants’ War, highlights four women who played a key role, challenging the male-centric historical narrative.
Above and Beyond—The First Female Aviators (History, 2x52 min./1x90 min.) Explores the pioneering women in early aviation, highlighting their achievements and struggles against social norms, with a focus on their enduring legacies.
Mothers of the Minotaur—Rise, Reign and Ruin of the Minoans (History, 1x45/52 min.)
The Minoans of Bronze Age Crete have remained mysterious, but recent research uncovers new insights into this advanced, possibly femalecen tric civilization.
Justin Bonello’s BUSHCOOK (Factual, 10x30 min.) South African chef Justin Bonello journeys through Southern Africa, exploring the roots of cooking and the cultural stories behind food.
A Sloth Story (Factual, 1x52 min.) Follows Slotty, a pale-throated sloth, rescued by indigenous wildlife carers after a tree collapse, highlighting her recovery and the survival strategies of sloths.
The Imperial Crown—Myth, Mystery and Majesty (History, 1x45/52 min.) The origins of the Imperial Crown remain mysterious, despite being linked to Charlemagne. This documentary follows scientists to investigate its history using modern research methods.
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Ryan’s World The Movie: Titan Universe Adventure (Animation/live-action, 1x83 min.)
Theatrical motion picture follows 12-year-old Ryan as he transforms into super alter-ego “Red Titan” and battles animated bad guys to rescue his sisters.
Ballpark Blast! presented by MLB and pock et.watch (Live-action, 10x11 min. & 1x22 min.) A new series from pocket.watch and Major League Baseball.
Love, Diana Musical Mysteries (Animation/liveaction, 10x22 min.) Whenever a new problem needs solving in the Land of Play, the dynamic sibling duo of Diana and Roma must use their imagination and critical-thinking skills to solve three puzzles that unlock the clues they need to save the day.
Toys and Colors Kaleidoscope City (Liveaction/CGI, 10x22 min.) Starring global sensation Toys and Colors, a magical world where kids learn to see the world through new perspectives.
Ryan’s Mystery Playdate (Live-action, 90x22 min.)
In the top-rated, Emmy-nominated series, kid video superstar Ryan, along with his parents and animated friends, work together to identify a mystery guest.
Kids Diana Show Ultimate Mishmash (Liveaction, 45x22 min.) Join family vlog superstar Diana, aka the Princess of Play, and her brother Roma on their hilarious pretend play adventures.
Toys and Colors Ultimate Mishmash (Liveaction, 90x22 min.) YouTube’s number one kids ensemble, Toys and Colors, learns life skills, letters, numbers and more through musical and pretend play adventures.
The Pigeon Hustle
Ryan’s World Specials (Live-action/animation, 193x22 min.) Kid video superstar Ryan, his family and animated friends play games, make crafts, learn science and go on adventures.
LankyBox Ultimate Mishmash (Liveaction/gameplay, 60x22 min.) YouTube’s number one gamers, LankyBox consists of Justin and Adam, two best friends who love playing Roblox and making funny videos with sidekicks Foxy, Boxy and Rocky. Onyx Monster Mysteries (Animation, 8x22 min.) The Onyx family comes to cartoon life to save the most endangered species of all: monsters.
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Hand of Justice (Period spy thriller, 5x50 min.)
A former WWII soldier in 1950s Buenos Aires discovers a genocidal war criminal living freely, pushing him into a dangerous mission for justice and closure.
12 Words (Crime drama, 12x50 min.) A disgraced young lawyer joins a corrupt law firm, navigating power, deception and moral compromise in a world where justice is bought and loyalty tested.
The Home Resort (Family dramedy, 5x45 min.) A family fakes a luxury vacation by locking themselves in their apartment—unraveling secrets, lies and the cost of keeping up appearances.
The Will of the Son (Sci-fi adventure, 8x50 min.) In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a lone wolf defies a brutal regime to find his missing sister, uncovering love, rebellion and a hidden destiny along the way.
Black Wedding (Mystery/horror thriller, 10x50 min.) After a series of brutal ritual murders, a detective, a psychologist and a monk uncover dark magic, possession and an ancient evil threatening the world as we know it.
12 Words
Mind Tunnel (Crime drama, 12x50 min.) A psychological procedural following Serbia’s elite police negotiators as they defuse life-or-death crises— while battling internal demons, political pressure and the weight of personal sacrifice.
The Name is Varvara (Drama, 10x45 min.) Several intertwined stories unfold in this artistic drama series, weaving gripping human destinies where trauma, forbidden love and the search for meaning collide in haunting, emotional ways.
Accomplices (Thriller, 4x45 min.) After a fatal car accident is covered up, a couple’s guilt slowly corrodes their relationship, forcing buried truths and moral consequences to surface.
